The present invention is directed to bicycle brake devices and, more particularly, to a hydraulic caliper brake for a bicycle.
A typical bicycle caliper brake comprises first and second brake arms, wherein each brake arm includes a brake arm mounting portion, a brake pad mounting portion and a control interface portion. The brake arm mounting portion is structured to pivotably mount the brake arm to the bicycle frame or fork, the brake pad mounting portion is structured to mount a brake pad to the brake arm, and the control interface portion is structured to mount a control element such as a control cable to the brake arm. The first and second brake arms pivot relative to the bicycle frame or fork to move their respective brake pads toward and away from each other in response to the operation of the control element.
Hydraulic caliper brakes typically use a hydraulic piston assembly coupled between the control interface portions of the first and second brake arms in order to pivot the first and second brake arms relative to the bicycle frame or fork. Typically, the hydraulic piston assembly comprises a cylindrical housing that defines a hydraulic chamber. A piston is disposed in the hydraulic chamber for movement along a piston axis in response to hydraulic fluid that is selectively introduced into and withdrawn from the hydraulic chamber through a conduit that is coupled to the housing. The housing is coupled to one of the brake arms, and the piston is coupled to the other brake arm. Thus, hydraulic caliper brakes tend to be asymmetrical. As a result, the conduit that supplies the hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic chamber usually is located closer to one of the brake arms. Because of such positioning, the conduit may not be located in the optimum position to travel effectively from the housing to the handlebar-mounted control device that supplies the hydraulic fluid. The problem is made worse by the fact that conventional conduits typically lack flexibility.